1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modular, extensible pot having plural threadedly attachable sections. A significant use of the invention is minimizing mechanical damage and shock to delicate plants during repotting. The bottom module may be removed from the pot without dislodging the root ball from an upper module. An intermediate module may be installed below the upper module, after which a new bottom module may be attached. Thus, effective root depth is accommodated while eliminating potentially injurious removal from a pot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flower pots are commonly employed to contain a growing medium such as soil to grow plants. As a plant grows, it may outgrow its original flower pot. This frequently requires that the plant be repotted in a larger pot. In some cases, this operation may be objectionable. For example, some plants when young have delicate root systems which would typically be subjected to shock if dislodged from the original pot. In other cases, the plant may not be subjected to injurious influences by repotting. The gardener or horticulturalist may instead be subjected to injury if the plant has thorns or spines obstructing access to the root ball from above. In these cases it would be extremely useful to be able to remove the bottom portion of the pot and reinstall in its place a bottom portion having greater volummetric capacity.
Variable capacity pots are known. An example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,950, issued to Kalman Lantai on Sep. 26, 1978. A planting container described in this patent is built up by placing successive modules onto the existing modules. By contrast, in the present invention, modules thread to one another, so that firstly, the assembled container may be grasped and lifted from the top, and secondly, downward expansion of the pot is enabled.
U.S. Pat. No. 661,411, issued to Hugo Lonitz on Nov. 6, 1900, U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,179, issued to Rick S. Johnson et al. on Nov. 9, 1976, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,671, issued to Bok K. Byun on May 10, 1994, illustrate stackable plant containers having modules of variable diameter sections. The subject modules of this group do not thread together.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.